‘No,’ he muttered, angry with himself. He turned away from the window and returned to his desk, forcing his mind to fix on the high affairs of state. The Portuguese ruler and his government may have escaped Junot and taken their fleet with them, but their country was now in French hands and their ports would soon be closed to British ships. It was a different situation in Spain, however, where the corruption and incompetence of the government meant that British merchants openly flouted the embargo. The King, Charles IV, and his heir, Ferdinand, were both fools who loathed each other, and were in turn loathed by their people. Both the King and his Queen were under the spell of Manuel Godoy, a nobleman who had once been a mere soldier in the royal guard until he had become the lover of the Queen and been showered with honours and riches.
Napoleon smiled to himself. Godoy’s corruption knew no bounds, and for some years he had secretly been in the pay of the French. It was through Godoy’s influence that French troops had been permitted to march across Spain to reach Portugal, and to leave garrisons in their wake to protect the communications with France. Even now, three small army corps had crossed the border into Spain and were well placed to intervene in Spanish affairs the moment Napoleon gave them their orders. He turned his chair round and stared up at the large map of Europe that hung on the wall behind his desk. His eyes fixed on Spain and he pressed his lips together. Very well then, he decided. The time had come to act.
That evening Napoleon returned to his country estate of Malmaison, not far from Paris.A fresh fall of snow had made the road difficult going for the horses; in places the snow had drifted and the men of the mounted escort had been forced to dismount and clear a path with the butts of their carbines before the carriage could proceed. It was past midnight before they finally pulled up outside the main entrance and a mufflered footman jumped down to place the steps beside the carriage and open the door for the Emperor. Napoleon cast aside the thick sheepskin covering that he had been using to try to keep warm and climbed stiffly down. The door to the house had been opened and a welcoming shaft of warm yellow light fell across the steps and out on to the snow-covered drive. He hurried inside and allowed a footman to take off his coat before he warmed himself at a small fire burning in a hearth to one side of the lobby.
‘Is the Empress still awake?’
‘I do not know, sire. Her majesty retired to her quarters over an hour ago.’
‘Ah.’ Napoleon frowned. He had sent word earlier in the day that he would arrive in time for the evening meal. That was before the snow had started again.
‘Do you wish me to have some food brought to you, sire?’
‘Yes. Some soup and wine. I’ll be in my study. Is the fire made up?’
‘Yes, sire.’
‘Good.’ Napoleon nodded and strode off down the corridor to the rear of the house, the stamp of his boots echoing off the tiled floor.The air in the study was warm and the glow from the fire was comforting as Napoleon eased himself into the chair at the desk that looked out over the gardens. At night the windows were shuttered and heavy curtains drawn across them to cut off any chilly draughts. He lit a lantern and by its light drew a piece of blank paper from the top drawer and then reached for a pen. He thought for a moment, and then dipped the nib in the inkwell and began to make notes in his usual swift, scarcely legible hand.
There was a soft tap on the door and a servant quietly entered and set down a tray on the corner of the desk. The Emperor did not look up from his work. At length he set the pen down, pulled the tray closer and began to drink his soup as he read over his thoughts on the situation in Spain. As he was finishing the soup he became aware of another presence in the study and glanced up to see Josephine standing just inside the door.
‘Can’t sleep?’ he asked.
She smiled thinly. ‘Not easy when you have been waiting anxiously all evening for your husband to arrive in a blizzard.’
‘Hardly a blizzard.’
She shrugged. ‘In any case, I was worried.’
‘Well I am here, safe and sound. Come, sit.’ Napoleon thrust his chair back and patted his lap. Josephine crossed the room and eased herself down, wrapping an arm round his neck and dangling her hand from his shoulder. She bent her head down and kissed him on the lips.
‘We haven’t done this for some time.’
‘No?’ Napoleon frowned, and then chuckled and kissed her again. ‘You are right. It is a pity. I have been neglecting you.’
‘You have.’
There was a serious edge to her tone, but before Napoleon could comment she had turned to read his notes, her eyes flicking over the uneven lines and figures. ‘What is so compelling about Spain at the moment?’
For a second Napoleon considered brushing the matter aside. He was tired and wanted to rest his head against her naked chest and fall asleep there. But his mind was still working, still turning over various possible actions and consequences. He drew a breath and sighed. ‘It is time the regime in Madrid was changed.’
‘Why? Spain is our ally.’
‘Some ally.’ Napoleon sniffed. ‘That wretched little mercenary, Godoy, has been taking our money for years and France is not seeing as much benefit from her investment as I would like. Many of Spain’s ports openly trade with our enemy. Godoy schemes with other powers and now it seems that he is trying to block the marriage between Ferdinand and Lucien’s daughter.’
‘Louise? I thought that matter had been settled.’
‘So did I. The marriage would have gone a long way to cementing the alliance. But now it seems that Ferdinand is not keen to hold to the agreement, and Godoy refuses to use his influence with King Charles and the Queen to force the issue.’
Josephine thought for a moment before looking directly at Napoleon. ‘So what do you intend to do about it? Not another war, surely?’
Napoleon shook his head. ‘There’s no need. Madrid is riven by dissent. The members of the royal household spend their lives plotting against each other while the people look on in despair. So it will be simple enough to engineer a crisis.The King will ask me to intervene.
I imagine Ferdinand will make a similar request as well. Then my soldiers who are already in Spain can seize control of the towns along the frontier and I will adjudicate the grievances between Charles and his heir.’
‘While disposing of Godoy, naturally.’
‘Yes.’
‘What then?’ Josephine asked as she moved her hand and began to softly stroke the back of his neck.